You want STARS?
by Drew Skye
Summary: Post RE3, Pre RE:CV fic. From early October to late December 1998, we have no idea what happened. What was everyone doing? Find out!


For the second time in a few months, Jill Valentine was jumping into a helicopter moments before an explosion ended her. Carlos, the only Umbrella mercenary without ulterior motives (at least not to kill her anyway) held open the door, motioning her to move quickly. She ducked her head under the door and sat down on the bench, while Carlos slinked into the cockpit and slammed the door shut. The blades on the helicopter chopped louder and louder as they ascended into the air, putrid with rotten flesh and dead BOWs. It was a smell that Jill would not soon forget.

"Thank you so much, you saved us." Jill said to the pilot who so generously responded to Carlos' SOS.

"I couldn't let you die." The pilot responded with his raspy, experienced voice. As soon as she heard him speak she could barely believe it was him.

"Barry!? Is it really you!?"

"Are you ready to end this?" He growled, the resolve strong in his voice.

She nodded.

There was silence, and Jill leaned back in her seat. The steel felt cool on her overheated, feverish skin. She slowly let her lids close, feeling like she was about to go to sleep.

"You know each other?" Carlos spoke up, sounding confused.

"We go a long way back." Barry replied from the front of the chopper.

Carlos' arm slowly slid around Jill, who despite declining his advances always found herself in the same situation with him, opened her eyes and pushed his arm away from her.

"Carlos, for the last time, I'm not--"

She stopped, noticing out the window the slow moving missile headed towards their old home. Everything she owned, everything Chris left behind was there. Moira and Polly, Barry's beloved daughters…their birthplace, their hometown was being destroyed for good. It was an incredibly sad moment. She knew she and Carlos couldn't be the only survivors, but soon all of their struggles will have been for nothing. They would be ash, just like the zombies they fought so hard to outlast.

"It's coming…" She said, summing the thought in the most simplistic way possible.

"Yeah." Barry said, sounding extremely concentrated on piloting. "It's the end."

Barry seemed so much darker, like a different version of himself. He'd had a lot on his mind since that awful day in July when he was forced to betray the STARS members. No matter how many times anyone told him it was okay, he still held himself at such fault.

The missile hit the center of the city, and immediately the shockwave began to spread, dismantling burning buildings and sending cars flying like a child would in a fit of rage. The destruction was thorough, precise. It was sure to leave the city a smoking crater in the earth. As the wave rode until the end of the city limits, the helicopter was thrown forward hard by the impact. It startled Jill so much, that she let a yelp escape her lips in surprise.

"Hold on!" Barry's voice boomed through the cockpit.

And before Jill could scream again, they were flying smoothly again.

"Ha." Jill said, feeling a bit sheepish for screaming.

"Well, that's it then. Umbrella is going down."

Jill had vowed in the beginning of this entire mess that this was the last time she would ever be running from Umbrella, and she hadn't forgotten. The next step in the plan was to find Chris, wherever he was…if he was alive.

The thought made Jill's heart stop, and her hands shake. She was terrified to know, didn't really want to ask, but it was an answer that she had to hear before her heart could resume beating.

"How…how are thing in Europe doing?" she said, careful not to let the fear in her voice be recognizable. She fumbled with the white STARS sweatshirt of Chris' tied to her waist.

"They're going about as well as they could be" Barry replied, taking his helmet off and turning to look at her. "We could definitely use a woman's touch."

"We?" She said, her breath running short. "So Chris hasn't gotten himself killed yet?"

Barry chuckled, "Not just yet."

The atmosphere in the small cockpit lightened, and Jill wanted to hug Barry's strong neck. She had never been happier during these few days.

Carlos glared at Jill, knowing by her change of personality that it was Chris he was competing with. Carlos wasn't used to being second best, or even competing at all. Usually all he had to do was bat his eyes and smile at a woman and she was putty in his latino hands. Jill was a different beast, everything he tried went wrong, and he always seemed like a jerk. He knew that this bunch wasn't for him, he didn't really do groups. He was being paid for this job, and that was all he'd hear from Umbrella. It wasn't like he always worked for them, he was just a mercenary. He'd take the money, go on vacation for a week or two, forget all of this and then go back out there again. Now if they wanted to _hire_ him, it would be different. He wouldn't even hit on Jill if they paid him enough.

He could honestly care less about what Umbrella did, as long as the check came in the mail when he got home. As soon as they all got where they were going, Carlos would go his own separate way. With that resolution in mind, Carlos closed his eyes and caught up on the sleep he lost tending to the woman next to him. After all, he had only cured her of the T-Virus and got no kind of retribution for it.

Jill and Barry had been so wrapped up in catching up, neither one of them really noticed Carlos hadn't been talking. Jill couldn't be bothered though; she was catching up with an old comrade, feeling familiar for once in a while, talking about one of her favorite things--Chris Redfield.

Barry looked at a few of the many gauges in front of him, and then at a map. The Statue of Liberty prominently holding up the torch told Jill that they were nowhere other than the big apple--New York City.

"What are we doing here?" Jill asked, having not thought about their destination before.

"I called in a favor with an old buddy in SWAT. He snuck me this chopper."

Jill laughed. Only Barry could pull off something like that, and not be incarcerated for the remainder of his life.

"So basically you stole this--with permission?"

Barry shrugged. "Is it stealing if you've got permission?"

**Well, if you didn't already know, the title is from one of my all time favorite RE quotes: "You want STARS? I'll give you STARS!"**

**If you watch the cutscene where Raccoon City is destroyed from the game, I used the dialogue almost word for word up until Jill says "Umbrella is going down." I know, I think it's a tad cheesy but I already modified it anyway to save it that much more. I laughed out loud literally when she says in the game, "here it comes!" and Barry just says "YEAH," in a big man voice. Then you barely hear him say how it's the end. hahaha Good times, friends.**

**Scholar JVG had a wonderful idea of doing a reunion fic post RE3, and pre RE:CV. Basically it would just cover the events between October-December 1998. This could be really fun, pulling some Claire/Leon things into it, correspondence, maybe even what Wesker was up to during this time too! Plus, where did Barry ever go after saving Jill? I feel like there are lots of loose ends still, even though Umbrella Chronicles and RE5 was supposed to clear all of it up. Oh, and can any of you tell that I rather dislike Carlos? haha **

**I'll get to cover CHRISTMAS too during this timeline, since Claire's half of RE:CV begins December 27th! I really like this idea, Scholar JVG. There is endless potential with this one.**

**Oh, and I just ordered Resident Evil Archives, this Resident Evil encyclopedia that is supposed to have a lot of amazing facts and stuff right up until RE4. I'm excited to read it, I think it could only make my knowledge (and hopefully abillity to write the universe and it's characters) that much better.**

**Don't forget to review, my faithful readers! Thanks for sticking by me!! :D  
**


End file.
